I thought I was going to black out when I heard those words coming from my daughter's lips. I knew without a doubt that Paul was here somewhere on the grounds, but I couldn't sense him or even smell him. And then I remembered that I was no longer connected to him. He could be out of bounds but still close enough to pounce.When we reached the bottom of the stairs, I was elated to see Alexis' Elder Council was waiting for us. The cavalry had arrived!Ran, however, didn't look happy. He took a defensive posture in front of the Ladies, who were terrified. Alexis rushed forward, but my footsteps faltered."My security is being alerted to the possible presence of the beasts breaching the compound," Alexis said while holding his cellphone to his ear."No," Ferris said. "Your security has been made…indisposed."Alexis' face seemed to crumple when he realized the Council's treachery. Bernard hadn't sold us out, but the group that Alexis had served for decades had. Alexis was livid but qui
The sound of crashing waves awakened me. With a groan, I opened my eyes, squinting against the bright sunlight.BJ!I sat up quickly and looked around. The wet sand stuck to my legs and back. I jumped to my feet and looked around in desperation. A few yards away was a familiar beach house."Alexis!" I screamed. My eyes hurt as I searched the beach until I saw an unmoving figure on the rocks. I ran across the beach, and as I grew closer, I saw an unconscious man."Ran?"I crouched carefully beside him and patted his cheeks. He mumbled groggily and then his eyes flashed open. He had stubble on his usually clean-shaven face, and his lips were dry and cracked."Shit." He rubbed the back of his head. "What the…?" He looked around. "Where are we?"I shook my head, unsure of what to tell him. "We have to find Alexis."He stood on shaky legs. "I cracked my head…and I'm…thirsty." He seemed surprised at this, even more than waking up in daylight on a strange beach.I scanned the beach
I pushed his pants down roughly over his firm ass then held him at bay by placing my hand on his chest. I gazed at his nude body. Finally, my Alexis, and he was beautiful.His hard chest held soft dark hair that trailed down past his belly button to the dark hair surrounding his thick cock. I reached out, wrapped my hand around his hard root, and heard his soft moan. He didn't move forward, watching me with dark eyes filled with desire.I tugged on his cock to pull him forward until he lifted me in his arms and my legs encircled his waist. He cupped my ass with his hands while his mouth and tongue devoured mine. He walked us blindly to the bed then lowered me to it gently.I expected us to fuck with years of pent-up desires, him between my thighs pounding away, his cock claiming ownership of me through my pussy and my pussy weeping with need as it clutched and pulled him deeper inside. But instead of ravishing me, Alexis lay beside me and looked at my entire body—from the expression
On the rare occasions when I wanted to listen to music from my club days or dance those old tired line dances that now felt nostalgic, I would play "Cupid Shuffle" or R. Kelly's "Step in The Name of Love." I would dance, my body somehow remembering all the moves. Alexis laughed at me, I mean really gut-busting laughter, until I challenged him to dance.He took me up on the challenge, and I discovered that he moved like water! He was a natural-born dancer. The Cha-Cha Slide, Wobble, even things that I made up to throw him off, Alexis picked up with no trouble. Ran couldn't resist joining in, compelled by the beat of the music to forget, even to laugh for a while. We would all dance for what seemed like hours. Shyly, Ran even taught us how to clog, and no one made fun of him for knowing how to clog.They took me out of my comfort zone and taught me how to ballroom dance. We had nothing but time on our hands, so there was no reason not to learn and enjoy the various dances of their time
"Why does it matter? I can't die of starvation, can I?""No. You cannot. But you can experience pain, and there is no need for that. It will not change anything. So eat. Please."It wouldn't make me feel better, but it would make him feel better, so I sat up feeling groggy and lethargic. The smell of the coffee on the tray turned my stomach topsy-turvy. I caught one sight of the eggs and knew I was going to vomit.I jumped out of bed, pushed past Alexis, and ran to the bathroom, barely making it to the toilet before I vomited. Ran and Alexis came into the bathroom while I was heaving."What's wrong?" Ran asked."She got sick." Alexis bent down and rubbed my back. "I tried to tell you that you will experience the same discomfort that you did as a human.""I know," I grumbled. When I felt strong enough to stand, Alexis gave me a cup of water to rinse my mouth then he carried me back to bed.I averted my eyes from the sight of the eggs. "Get rid of those please," I croaked. "The sm
"Our memories don't go back that far," Ran replied. "But we give credit for our origins to She-Who-Has-No-Name.""The Mother of all Neratomay," I added thoughtfully.Alexis narrowed his eyes."What if we went to her again?" I asked. "We can plead our case—and this time it wouldn't be for us. I mean, this affects all of the Neratomay. Hell, it affects the entire world as we know it.""What do you mean talk to her again?" Ran asked. "You spoke to the First Mother? I didn't even know she had language…"I explained about our visit to her and how she had given Alexis permission to use our powerful bond to prevent me from dying during my punishment."She doesn't have power over the Neratomay," Alexis said with a sigh. "She formed the laws, she can interpret them, but she cannot enforce them. Besides, we are trapped in this bubble. I have tried many times to move outside of this realm."I lightly bit my lip. "But this realm is where she exists?""Yes," Alexis said. "She is quite power
"Why do you two insist on giving this entity gender?" Alexis asked. "Your Succubus is a non-living thing. It has never lived except through you.""If she lived through me and I'm female, then she probably self-identifies as female," I said. "Wouldn't that make sense?"Alexis scowled.I moved toward her. I was scared, but she was scared, too. She tried to escape, but unless she went through the wall, there was no escape.It's okay. Just…don't do that again. I held up my hands as if trying to calm a frightened animal. I wasn't sure if I could talk to her without words, but if I could do it with my minion, then I certainly should be able to do it with my own Succubus.How? she asked.I understood the question!How were we separated and not able to merge?This place gives me the power to be both human and spirit but not in the same body, I explained.Satisfied with the response, she stopped huddling into herself. I will not hurt you again. She tentatively moved toward me. One of h
I laughed, but he remained serious while pulling me into his arms and kissing me."Shall we try out this bed?" he asked."Eww. That's gross. No. We're going to go home and kick Ran and Succubus girl out of our house."He lightly bit his lower lip as his hands settled on my hips. "I've become quite hungry for you.""Oh my." My cheeks warmed, and the rest of me followed.His eyes scanned my form in appreciation. "Is it possible that your nipples have tanned? They are a lovely shade of sienna against the white of this fabric…"We wore no underwear here, which was fine as long as we didn't get wet. Then the fabric of our tunics became translucent. I looked down, concerned that I had been flashing Ran this entire time—not that he cared about nudity. He had been a Werewolf for months. Still…Alexis' hands ran up my sides and his thumbs lightly circled my nipples, causing them instantly to tighten and ache. He cupped my breasts. "Heavier too," he whispered in appreciation.My mouth dr
"Are you ready, my love?" Alexis asked."I'm not sure," I said. "She's still so little."Alexis kissed the dark curls at the top of our daughter's head. "Tiye is strong enough to travel back to our realm. We've been here a year. Don't you miss home?""Yeah, but a year here is only like five minutes in the Above," I said."More like a few weeks," Alexis said. "The Ladies are anxious to meet their new niece."He gently lifted his sleeping daughter, tucking her blanket carefully around her body. She had just turned three months old and was as round and plump as a melon. Her thick, curly hair was sure to be as wild as mine was when I wasn't wearing the plaits that Oni put them in. She looked like us—my brown skin with Alexis' nose and Mona Lisa smile.Alexis had named her after an ancient Egyptian Queen who was the deity of light. Leave it to him to name his daughter after an angel and a queen.He carried her outside and stood on the porch staring out at a vast sea made by his own h
Paul smiled and relaxed. I led him to the study where Alexis was waiting. Alexis nodded in greeting."Alexis, thanks for agreeing to this meeting," Paul said.Alexis gestured to a throne. "Please, have a seat."Paul looked at the throne and sat. "Mmm, comfy."Alexis moved the other two thrones to form a triangle, and we sat."We saw the gathering video," Paul said. "We didn't know we were being filmed," I said."I figured as much," Paul said. "But you made a good point when you said that one supernatural group cannot rule over another. My Werewolf Council has been meeting for the last few days. We don't want a war with the Neratomay.""And we do not want a war with the Werewolves," Alexis said.Paul nodded. "We have been in discussions with the Alliance of the Supernaturals, and I expressed King's beliefs that if we do not work together then we will all fall together.""That's right," I said."After a lot of negotiation, the Alliance would like to extend an offer for you to
Ran continued. "We asked the Wolves to coordinate their attacks with ours, and that is all they agreed to do.""But what about the carnage that occurred in Epic Cu?" The Councilmember asked."Are you for real?" I asked in irritation. "There were hundreds of Rectors at that gathering! All it would have taken was for one of those Rectors to snap Alexis' neck before he could summon King to close the portal to the Underworld. We had to take out the Rectors and luckily the Alpha aided us or—well we wouldn't be here and you'd still be kissing the ass of your demon master!"Alexis put his hand on mine but Ignacio smiled in amusement. Will you be quiet! Cyrene snapped silently in my head.When has that ever happened? I snapped back.Ladies, Alexis interrupted. Now is not the time. My love, try to be more…diplomatic.Fine, I replied."We won that war by any means necessary," Alexis said, his voice annoyed. "We don't appreciate your line of questioning. Do you want to go back to the way
The Neratomay flashed themselves away once they were outside of Epic Cut. The Supernaturals carried away their dead and injured, and what was left inside of Epic Cu was blood, gore, and ash. Paul left with his pack, and Ran, King, Alexis, and I flashed back to our villa where King fell in an exhausted asleep.Alexis and I watched him with pride. "It could have gone so much different," I whispered."No." Alexis continued to gaze at King's small sleeping form. "Not if we understand King's true potential—this is the way it was meant to be."It was time discover the fallout so we turned on the radio and television. Many countries were in a state of emergency based on what had happened over the last several hours. News outlets and radio stations made announcements that people should stay indoors because there were reports of wild, strange beast attacks. Videos of humans turning into Vampires and using impossible speed to attack the beasts clogged the Internet. Supposed experts in the s
I moved from zombie to Wraith, pushing them through the portal and trying not to think about those they had possessed.The Wraiths will take you…Oni had said.I saw Alexis keeping King in the light flowing from the portal, but the portal had grown smaller.It was working!King was closing the portal to the Collective!As I zapped zombies and Wraiths, I noticed with surprise that the Supernaturals were fighting with the Neratomay to kill the zombies! When they ganged up and killed a zombie and the wraith left the zombie's body, I was able to zap the Wraith and send it back where it belonged."Aleawdat 'iilaa alealam alsuflii!" I chanted loudly along with King. Although I didn't understand the words, I could repeat them exactly.Then Ran, who still stood sentry beside me, began repeating the words. Alexis joined our chant, and that portal began shrinking even more.The larger Wraiths became bottlenecked trying to squeeze up and out of the shrinking portal. They were so freaking g
I stared at the center of the pentagram where so much power was streaming through to seek out vessels, as if that power was a thinking, conniving being. It infused its targets with power so they could fight for it. And Alexis thought that my son should face that? My little boy?"Alexis, he's just a baby!""He is a demon!" he said sternly. "He only pretends to be a baby because that's what you need, Kim. You have to know that it has been many years since our son was a baby."The way King talked to the Wolf Council, the way he seemed to understood so much and so easily, the way he commanded attention whenever he spoke. I didn't want my child to fight this battle, but Alexis and King both knew this was what King was meant to do.Alexis released me and turned toward the pentagram. He raised his hand and began pulling power from the portal in the center, pulling so much that he glowed with the unnatural light that the energy emanated.Paul squinted and stepped in front of me, preventin
Alexis raised his hand. "We learned the truth, secrets that have enslaved us all!" Alexis' nose began to bleed. He stumbled and swiped at the blood angrily and then raised it to show everyone. "Secrets that prevent me from speaking these truths. But you see! You see!"Ran glared out at the group. "We know, even if we can't speak it. But if you can read it in our heads, you will know this secret, too!"The pain was so sudden that I could not have taken a step. I couldn't even see! Buzzing filled my brain as instead of a dozen bees, hundreds of them seemed to fill my head. I had expected it and thought I was prepared, but there is no way to be prepared when someone is inside of you filling your brain to bursting!"Kim!" Paul shook me.I tried to open my eyes then realized they were open. I couldn't see!"Build your wall!" Paul shouted. "Build it now!"I tried to imagine the bricks—white bricks. White…but I could only see black vapors!Then Alexis was inside my head cutting through
I smelled Alexis and Ran, but so had Paul. He was already heading toward them. When we finally met up, I dropped Paul's clothes on the ground before him. He changed quickly back to a man while I stared up at the castle where more Neratomay than ever attempted to enter Epic Cu."Once we're inside we cannot flash ourselves out," I said.Paul narrowed his eyes. "You'll be trapped inside?"Alexis frowned, but Ran and I nodded.Paul slipped his shirt over his head and peered at the castle. "We can blow this bitch up.""Blowing up Neratomay won't kill us," Alexis said. "Not unless our heads are severed or our hearts pierced.""Why does this castle remind me of Hogwarts?" Paul asked.I smiled. "That's what I thought!""How do we enter?" Paul asked. "That entrance is a hopeless bottleneck." "You could enter through the front door once we're inside," Alexis said, pointing at the opening four stories up. "That's how we exited."Paul licked his lips. "I can make that jump.""Not as a
"You're behind this, aren't you? Somehow—"His head exploded. I flinched at the spray of gore. When it turned to ash, I brushed it off me."Which one of you did that?" I asked."He searched my head," Alexis replied."Well, warn a sister next time," I said.Then I felt a loud buzz in my head, and across the room another Elder's head exploded.This created more bedlam and screaming from Council members who flashed themselves away or who sought the aid of another Elder."Do you feel that?" Ran asked."I don't feel anything because these people are screaming and hollering so loudly," I said.They were the most cowardly individuals I had ever seen. These powerful Vampires sat here crying like wusses! The very Council members and Elders who had tortured and murdered other lower level Neratomay could only hide and cry when they met a foe they couldn't overpower. They were the very definition of bullies!Ran turned to me. "It's Paul.""Paul? How…?""I can still hear him from my tim